AMERICAN MOSAIC - 'Sweet Potato Queens' Grow Strong / Questi

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ - 'Sweet Potato Queens' Grow Strong / Question from Nigeria About the White House / Lalah Hathaway Sings the ...
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Broadcast: Friday, November 12, 2004

(MUSIC)

DOUG JOHNSON: Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC, in VOA Special English. This is Doug Johnson. On our show this week:

Music by Lalah and Donny Hathaway ...

 
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A listener question about the White House ...

And an international organization known as "Sweet Potato Queens."

Sweet Potato Queens

HOST:

A few years ago, Jill Conner Browne had to work at four jobs to pay her debts. Today, she is a writer whose books have sold almost two million copies. She also leads an international movement. Shep O'Neal tells us more.

SHEP O'NEAL: Jill Conner Browne started an organization called Sweet Potato Queens. Its purpose is friendship and fun. Thousands of people belong to the Sweet Potato Queens. Most are women. Sweet potatoes grow in the American South.

During the past five years, four thousand groups of Sweet Potato Queens have organized in the United States and in foreign countries, including Saudi Arabia. Members share interests in food, love and life after forty years of age.

Mizz Browne started her Sweet Potato Queens movement on Saint³ Patrick's Day, nineteen eighty-two. A friend had organized a parade to celebrate the holiday in Jackson, Mississippi, Jill Conner Browne's hometown.

Browne rode in an open truck wearing extremely unusual clothing. Her appearance surprised other drivers. She called to other women, urging them to join her. On that day, few did.

But later, she made copies of the unusual clothing. She put together shining green costumes with material that makes the chest and lower back look bigger. Over her own hair, she wore a bright red wig⁴.

After that, many other women joined the celebration. Now, the Sweet Potato Queens take part every year in the Saint Patrick's Day parade in Jackson. Before long, local groups of her organization formed throughout the world.

Mizz Browne's first book was published in nineteen ninety-nine. It is called "The Sweet Potato Queens' Book of Love." In it, she offers observations about what she calls "issues." These include the four main food groups. And how to wear one's hair. The book also lists words she says are guaranteed to get any man to do what you want. The book was a big success. So she wrote three more books.

Jill Conner Browne' s latest book is called "The Sweet Potato Queens' Field Guide to Men: Every Man I Love is Either Married, Gay⁵ or Dead."

The White House

DOUG JOHNSON: Our listener question this week comes from Nigeria. Barrister Ikechukwu Edwin Ike asks why the United States capitol building is called the White House.

The short answer to that question is that the United States capitol building is not called the White House. The capitol building has a dome-shaped roof that rises above all the other buildings in Washington, D.C. The two houses of Congress⁶, the Senate⁷ and the House of Representatives, meet in the Capitol building.

The building known as the White House is the home of the President of the United States and his family. The President also has his office there.

America's first President, George Washington, helped choose the land for the new presidential home in seventeen ninety. A competition was held to find a designer to build it. Architect James Hoban won the contest. He planned a building of grayish white sandstone. The color gave the house its name.

Work started in seventeen ninety-two. But the house was not ready before the end of President Washington's term. America's second President, John Adams, and his wife, Abigail, moved into the house on November first, eighteen hundred. By then, the building had six completed rooms.

Many of the rooms were still empty when John Adams left office a few months later. Other Presidents tried to complete the White House. But the British burned it during the War of Eighteen Twelve. The White House was re-built after that war. Since then, it has been enlarged⁸, repaired and almost totally re-built.

Today, the White House has one hundred thirty-two rooms. Visitors can walk through some of the public ones.

Visiting has been restricted⁹ since the terrorist¹⁰ attacks three years ago. But anyone with a computer can make an electronic visit to the White House. You can see the public rooms, and the Oval¹¹ Office, where the President does his work.

The Internet address is www.whitehouse.gov. White House is all one word.

Lalah and Donny Hathaway

Singer and songwriter Lalah Hathaway says music has always been a major part of her life. Her father was the rhythm-and-blues singer Donny Hathaway. Shirley Griffith has our story.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Lalah Hathaway released¹² her first album in nineteen ninety. The smoky sound of her voice captured¹³ music critics and fans. Her singing is similar to the way her father sang.

Here is "We Were Two" from her recent album, "Outrun the Sky."

(MUSIC)

Lalah Hathaway says the songs on her new album are about learning¹⁴ to deal with the joys of life, and the unhappiness. Her father suffered from depression. In nineteen seventy-nine, he killed himself.

Donny Hathaway had a brief musical career. But he is remembered as one of the greatest soul singers of all time. His music is still influential¹⁵ and popular.

Lalah Hathaway says it seems unreal that her father has a new album twenty-five years after his death. A collection of songs by Donny Hathaway was released recently. The album "These Songs for You, Live!" includes this famous song, "Someday We'll All Be Free."

(MUSIC)

We leave you with Lalah Hathaway and a song from another album released this year, "Forever, For Always, For Luther." It is a collection of songs made famous by Luther Van Dross¹⁶. who survived a stroke¹⁷ last year. Several recording¹⁸ artists came together to honor¹⁹ him with this album.

Here now is Donny Hathaway's daughter Lalah with "Forever, For Always, For Love."

(MUSIC)

DOUG JOHNSON: This is Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed AMERICAN MOSAIC.

This program was written by Lawan Davis, Jerilyn Watson and Nancy Steinbach. Paul Thompson was the producer. And our engineer was Efeem Drucker. Join us again next week for American Mosaic, VOA's radio magazine in Special English.

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This is the one-thousandth program of AMERICAN MOSAIC.

1 mosaic   

n./adj.镶嵌细工的，镶嵌工艺品的，嵌花式的

参考例句：

• The sky this morning is a mosaic of blue and white.今天早上的天空是幅蓝白相间的画面。
• The image mosaic is a troublesome work.图象镶嵌是个麻烦的工作。

2 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

3 saint   

n.圣徒；基督教徒；vt.成为圣徒，把...视为圣徒

参考例句：

• He was made a saint.他被封为圣人。
• The saint had a lowly heart.圣人有谦诚之心。

4 wig   

n.假发

参考例句：

• The actress wore a black wig over her blond hair.那个女演员戴一顶黑色假发罩住自己的金黄色头发。
• He disguised himself with a wig and false beard.他用假发和假胡须来乔装。

5 gay   

adj.同性恋的；色彩鲜艳的；n.(男)同性恋者

参考例句：

• I don't know he was a gay person.我不知道他是同性恋者。
• Spring comes round to the earth again and everything looks fresh and gay.春回大地，万象更新。

6 Congress   

n.(代表)大会；(C-:美国等国的)国会，议会

参考例句：

• There were some days to wait before the Congress.大会的召开还有几天时间。
• After 18 years in Congress,he intented to return to private life.在国会供职18年后，他打算告老还乡。

7 senate   

n.参议院，上院

参考例句：

• They feel deeply the honour of belonging to the Senate.他们为作为参议院的成员而深感荣幸。
• His unsuccessful senate run was his last hurrah.这次失败的参议员竞选是他最后的尝试。

8 enlarged   

扩大( enlarge的过去式和过去分词 )； 扩展； 扩充； 放大

参考例句：

• The balloon enlarged as we pumped air into it. 那个气球充气后就变大了。
• The castle was enlarged considerably in the fifteenth century. 这个城堡在15 世纪得到了相当大的扩展。

9 restricted   

adj.有限的；受约束的

参考例句：

• Speed is restricted to 30 mph in towns. 在城里车速不得超过每小时30英里。
• a restricted range of foods 有限的食物种类

10 terrorist   

n.恐怖主义者，恐怖分子

参考例句：

• Without the gun,I'm a sitting duck for any terrorist.没有这支枪，我就成了恐怖分子下手的目标了。
• The district was put on red alert during a terrorist's bomb scare.这个地区在得到恐怖分子炸弹恐吓后作了应急准备。

11 oval   

n. 椭圆，椭圆形跑道；adj. 卵形的，椭圆形的

参考例句：

• She has a lovely oval face.她长着一张可爱的椭圆脸。
• The shape of the earth is an oval.地球的形状是个椭圆形。

12 released   

v.释放( release的过去式和过去分词 )；放开；发布；发行

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• With hindsight it is easy to say they should not have released him. 事后才说他们本不应该释放他，这倒容易。

13 captured   

俘获( capture的过去式和过去分词 )； 夺取； 夺得； 引起（注意、想像、兴趣）

参考例句：

• Allied troops captured over 300 enemy soldiers. 盟军俘虏了300多名敌方士兵。
• Most of the rebels were captured and disarmed. 大部分叛乱分子被俘获并解除了武装。

14 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

15 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

16 dross   

n.渣滓；无用之物

参考例句：

• Caroline felt the value of the true ore,and knew the deception of the flashy dross.卡罗琳辨别出了真金的价值，知道那种炫耀的铁渣只有迷惑人的外表。
• The best players go off to the big clubs,leaving us the dross.最好的队员都投奔大俱乐部去了，就只给我们剩下些不中用的人。

17 stroke   

n.笔画，击打，连续的动作，中风，心跳；vt.奉承，轻抚； vi.击打，心跳...

参考例句：

• He drove in a nail with one stroke of the hammer.他一锤就把钉子敲进去了。
• He broke the lock with one stroke of the hammer.他一锤就把锁砸坏了。

18 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

19 honor   

n.光荣；敬意；荣幸；vt.给…以荣誉；尊敬

参考例句：

• I take your visit as a great honor.您的来访是我莫大的光荣。
• It is a great honor to receive that prize.能拿到那个奖是无上的光荣。